OSAKA: Japanese developer Shinwa Group plans to expand into Thailand's construction industry next year after the development of its first condo this year in Bangkok.

Wichai Chula-Olarnkun (right) and Tomoyasu Yamabe, co-CEO of W-Shinwa Co.

The group's director Tomoyasu Yamabe said construction is also the company's core business, apart from property development.

"Next year we will start the construction business, focusing on residential buildings, which we are experts at in Japan," he said yesterday. "We will launch one property development project worth around 1 billion baht each year."

The condos Shinwa develops in Thailand will be developed with dual floors, so-called Runesu structure, an innovation which the group has applied in Japan for over two decades.

This structure allows for recessed space between the floor of one level and the ceiling under it, which will be able to maximise unit areas by up to 40%.

This additional space will be hidden underneath unit's floor, which can be used for storage. It can be utilised as a work space, a small bed or to create a higher ceiling to make a unit more spacious.

Shinwa Group covers property development, construction, architecture, property management, hotel and serviced apartment, spa, fitness, car parks, old-age homes and sigma beam manufacturing.

Last year, it recorded 35 billion yen in revenue, around 11.3 billion baht, of which 80% was from property development and construction business.

It owns 5,000 residential units at 88 buildings in Japan available to rent out and manage.

Early last year Shinwa Development Thailand Co was set up in Thailand, where Shinwa holds a 49% stake, with the rest owned by Thai individuals.

The group plans to use this subsidiary to commence its construction business in 2018.

In mid-2016, it established W-Shinwa Co with a registered capital of 270 million baht, where Shinwa Development Thailand Co holds a 51% stake and property developer Woraluk Property Co, owned by Wichai Poolworaluk, holds 49%.

"We had discussions with partners in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia before choosing to invest in Thailand due to Thailand and Japan's long-standing relationship," said Mr Yamabe, also a co-CEO of W-Shinwa Co.

In Thailand, the group talked with six developers and looked into 10 land plots before choosing Woraluk Property and a plot on Soi Thong Lo 5 to launch its first condo project in Thailand.

W-Shinwa will launch Runesu Thonglor 5, an eight-storey condo worth 1.2 billion baht in the second quarter this year.

The project has 156 units sized between 29-65 square metres. Only 30 units will have Runesu structure on the first and second floors to test the market response, said Wichai Chula-Olarnkun, W-Shinwa's co-CEO.

Runesu construction costs 11% more than general units, and prices for Runesu unit are also 11% higher than or 210,000 baht per sq m, compared with 190,000 baht for general units.